Vector: The liberation of Wernhout
Despite being a small village, Wernhout was fiercely contested in October 1944. The American Timberwolves received their baptism of fire during the battle for Wernhout, but still managed to secure their first victory.
On 20 October 1944, German troops set up a command post in a farmhouse on the Kalmhoutsebaan road, and by the end of October there were several hundred German defenders in Wernhout and the surrounding area. They were able to keep a close eye on the area from an observation post in the tower of the local Roman Catholic church, Our Lady of Perpetual Assistance.
The approaching Allies knew that German soldiers used the Dutch church towers for this purpose, and so they almost always shelled the towers in each village, just as they did in Wernhout on 22 October 1944. That day such a shelling put an end to the life of Antonius Koenraads, aged 81, who was in the nearby parsonage at the time. The shellfire also caused considerable damage to the church and rectory.
A day later, the church came under …
On 20 October 1944, German troops set up a command post in a farmhouse on the Kalmhoutsebaan road, and by the end of October there were several hundred German defenders in Wernhout and the surrounding area. They were able to keep a close eye on the area from an observation post in the tower of the local Roman Catholic church, Our Lady of Perpetual Assistance.
The approaching Allies knew that German soldiers used the Dutch church towers for this purpose, and so they almost always shelled the towers in each village, just as they did in Wernhout on 22 October 1944. That day such a shelling put an end to the life of Antonius Koenraads, aged 81, who was in the nearby parsonage at the time. The shellfire also caused considerable damage to the church and rectory.
A day later, the church came under fire again, taking four hits. Meanwhile, the Allied air force carried out attacks on Wernhout and the surrounding area, causing several hits on the buildings of the Wernhoutsbrug seminary.
The monument at the church is a tribute to the Timberwolves, who together with British tank crews liberated Wernhout on 27 October 1944.